Treasures of Pariyatti

The Treasures of Pariyatti offer a permanent repository and free access for students, researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public to the historical collections that comprise the post-commentarial writings on the teachings of the Buddha.

Introduction

The prime focus of Treasures of Pariyatti is to preserve and disseminate the texts and other forms of media that have gone out of print or are otherwise in danger of being lost to the ravages of time. Additionally, since many newer publications are dana-based (paid for up front by donation and given away at no cost), they often face quick extinction, as there are no economic incentives to keep them in print. The Treasures project serves as a permanent library for such dana-based publications that fall within its scope. Thus, it is a unique sort of library that will expand its collection as rare and out-of-print items are contributed and as new publications that lack a broad-audience or other economic staying power to remain in print. Please check back often to see new additions to the archive.

If you have suggestions or contributions that you would like to see incorporated in the Treasures of Pariyatti, please email us at treasures@pariyatti.org. We also appreciate any feedback that you might have and how we might improve this offering.

The Pariyatti Treasures are available in Acrobat PDF format for better print quality and to properly display Pali characters. A recent version of Acrobat Reader must be installed on each computer to view PDF documents. Download the free Acrobat Reader program for Windows, Macintosh, and other platforms.

You may download and/or print any of the Treasures of Pariyatti for your own use; however, we ask that you not use any of the site content on your own website, nor for commercial distribution. To publish these works, or any part thereof, permission must be sought from the appropriate copyright holders. If you post an extract on a forum or other website, please post a link to the appropriate page or to the main page of this site; please do not link directly to the PDF files on this site.

The Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana (1954 - 1956)

The Sixth Buddhist Council was inaugurated at Kaba Aye in Yangon (formerly Rangoon, Burma) in 1954, 83 years after the Fifth Council in Mandalay. It was sponsored by the Burmese Government led by the Prime Minister, the Honorable U Nu. He had previously authorized the construction of the Mahā Pāsāna Gūhā, a great artificial cave built from the ground up and completed in 1952, to serve as the gathering place, much like Rajgiri's Sattapānni Cave in India had housed the First Council immediately after the death of the Buddha. This new "cave" measured 220' by 140' inside and could seat 10,000 people.

The Sixth Council opened on May 17, 1954. Like the preceding councils, its chief objective was to recite, affirm and preserve the genuine wording of the Vinaya, Suttas and Abhidhamma--the pariyatti--as related by the Buddha and his principal disciples. This Council was unique in that the 2,500 learned Theravāda monks who participated came from eight countries--Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India and Nepal--unlike previous councils which had included monks from the host countries only. Mahayana monks and representatives from all Buddhist countries also attended.

The complete traditional recitation of the Theravada Canon took two years, from 1954 to 1956. The Pali Tipiṭaka and its allied literature in all the diverse national scripts were painstakingly examined, their differences noted, necessary corrections made, and all the versions collated. Happily, it was found that there were only minor differences in the content of comparable texts in the various scripts. After the Council had officially approved them, the volumes of the Canon and its Commentaries were prepared for printing on modern presses and published in the Myanmar (Burmese) script. By the time the Council was over, all the participating countries had had the Tipiṭaka rendered into their native scripts, with the exception of India. The Council closed on the full moon of May 1956, exactly two and a half millennia after the Buddha attained parinibbāna. The version of the Tipiṭaka which the Sixth Buddhist Council produced is recognized as being true to the pristine teachings of Gotama the Buddha and the most authoritative rendering of them to date.

The Light of Buddha & The Light of the Dhamma

Introduction

This section and the downloadable magazine issues listed below represent an effort by Pariyatti to preserve the invaluable writings of The Light of the Dhamma and The Light of Buddha published in Burma around the era of the 6th Buddhist Council, otherwise know as the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana, in the mid-1950’s.

1956 represented the 2,500th anniversary of the teachings of the Buddha. To commemorate this event and to reinvigorate the Sāsana (the teaching of the Buddha), a recitation of the entire Tipiṭaka (the written documentation of the entire collection of the Buddha’s teachings) was held in Rangoon, Burma (later renamed Yangon, Myanmar). Twenty five hundred bhikkhus from Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia participated in the recitation, which spanned several years. Lay attendees from over 30 countries attended various portions of the council. It is a popular belief among Theravada Buddhists that the Buddha’s teaching is destined to last for 5,000 years following his lifetime.

Additionally, this belief holds that the second half of this Sāsana will see a strong resurgence of the spread of the Dhamma throughout the World. In light of this event, two different publishing organizations were formed in Burma to help the spread of these teachings. The first was formed in Rangoon and called The Union of Burma Buddha Sāsana Council. This organization began publishing the The Light of the Dhamma in October, 1952 and continued to publish the magazine in fairly consistent quarterly installments until mid-1963. The second organization was formed in Mandalay and called The Burma Buddhist Society. This Mandalay publication was called the The Light of Buddha, and it began monthly publication in April, 1956 and continued until 1965.

Each issue of these magazines contained a wide selection of articles submitted to the editors. Among the notable writers whose works were found in its pages are many Venerable Mahatheras, for instance: Ven. Ledi Sayadaw, Ven U Thittila, Ven. Piyadassi, Ven. Buddhadatta, Ven. Nyanatiloka, Ven. Nayanaponika, Ven. Narada, as well as lay writers such as The Honerable U Nu, Prime Minister of Burma, Mr. Francis Story (Anagārika Sugatananda), U Ohn Ghine, U Chan Htoon, U Hla Maung and many others. Topics of these articles included updates on the Council’s recitation, various aspects of the Buddha’s teachings, and practical application of these teachings in day-to-day life.

Many of the issues of the The Light of the Dhamma contained a translation of a Dīpanī (manual) by the Venerable Ledi Sayadaw. In 1981, some of these were included in a book titled The Manuals of Buddhism published by the Department of Religious Affairs, Rangoon. Today this book is available from Pariyatti as The Manuals of Dhamma. Two other collections were made from The The Light of the Dhamma issues: The Dhammapada Commentary and The Five Nikayas, Discourses of the Buddha, An Anthology. These later two books are currently out of print, but we are making efforts to make these available on the Treasures of Pariyatti site in the future.

The accompanying electronic texts represent an exhaustive effort to re-publish these works. These texts are now mostly 50 years old and in various stages of decay. The original texts were first copied to avoid damaging the originals and to minimize the bleed-through effect of the aging pages. The copies were then scanned using Optical Character Recognition technology which captured the majority of the Roman script, English characters. The texts were then analyzed word by word for proper translation, including the insertion of the appropriate diacritical marks for Pali words found in the original texts. All pictures and tables were then scanned in and placed appropriately to accurately represent the original formatting. Lastly, they were converted to pdf formats, proofread again and then uploaded to this site.

Additional issues will become available on the Treasures of Pariyatti website as the re-publication work progresses. There are a number of additional issues in process, however, there are many more issues of which we do not have copies. If you have copies of either the The Light of the Dhamma or the The Light of Buddha, and are willing to loan or donate them to Pariyatti for scanning and re-publication, please email us at treasures@pariyatti.org.

The expressed intent of the original publishers of these two magazines was to propagate the teaching of the Buddha with no monetary remuneration involved. These publishing entities and their editorial boards have long-ago dissolved. These works were originally published with no copyrights, and we believe that they would approve and endorse these measures that we have taken to preserve their monumental efforts. The objective of Pariyatti in making these works much more widely available through digital media is a continuation of those efforts to spread the teaching of the Buddha and to propagate the Sāsana.

S.N. Goenka (1924 - 2013)

Mr. S.N. Goenka (1924-2013) was a renowned teacher of Vipassana in the tradition of the late Sayagyi U Ba Khin of Burma (Myanmar).

Although Indian by descent, Mr. Goenka was born and raised in Burma. While living in Burma he had the good fortune to come into contact with U Ba Khin, and to learn the technique of Vipassana from him. After receiving training from his teacher for fourteen years, Mr. Goenka settled in India and began teaching Vipassana in 1969. In a country still sharply divided by differences of caste and religion, the courses offered by Mr. Goenka have attracted thousands of people from every part of society. In addition, many people from countries around the world have come to join courses in Vipassana meditation.

Mr. Goenka taught tens of thousands of people in more than 300 courses in India and in other countries, East and West. In 1982 he began to appoint assistant teachers to help him to meet the growing demand for courses. In meditation courses at over 150 international Vipassana centers, over 150 thousand meditators each year practice the Buddha’s living teaching as it has been transmitted by the chain of teachers that Goenkaji represents.

The technique which S.N. Goenka teaches represents a tradition that is traced back to the Buddha. The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal. In the same tradition, Mr. Goenka's approach is totally non-sectarian. For this reason, his teaching has a profound appeal to people of all backgrounds, of every religion and no religion, and from every part of the world.

Our Vipassana Meditation Teacher S.N. Goenka

Our Vipassana Meditation Teacher S.N. Goenka and Wellspring of Gratitude were created for an event commemorating the first anniversary of the passing of S.N. Goenka. The event was part of Maha Sangha Dana held at the Dhammakaya International Meditation Center in Asuza, California, USA in September 2014.

Wellspring of Gratitude

The Tree of Merits

This unpublished story describes some of the background to the circumstances during which Goenkaji composed this dohā:

"If nature so wills, may it mince every slice of my flesh and powder the bones, and may every atom of my body be mingled with the dust of this sacred land. And if it is the will of nature for me to live longer, may every breath of my life flow with gratitude towards my motherland."

The following describes Sayagyi's first meeting and subsequent contact with this noble person. At the beginning of 1941, U Ba Khin had been promoted to the post of Chief Accounts Officer, Burma Railways Board. One of his duties was to travel on the Rangoon-Mandalay line auditing the accounts of local stations. He travelled in a special carriage for the Chief Accountant, with full facilities for office work and sleeping overnight. His carriage would be attached to the main train, then detached at various stations.

One day in July... (Click "Learn More" tab below to continue)

Publications Related to Sayagyi U Ba Khin

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A Thousand Lives Away by Winston King
Appendix: An Experience of Buddhist Meditation

One day in July, by error his carriage was detached at a station in the town of Kyaukse, forty miles south of Mandalay. Although he was not scheduled to audit the accounts here, as Accounts Officer he was permitted to check the accounts of any station, and he proceeded to do this. After his work was over, he decided to visit the nearby Shwetharlyaung Hill and set out with the local station master. Sayagyi had heard that a monk named Webu Sayadaw, who had reached a high stage of development, was residing in the area. From the top of the hill they could see a cluster of buildings in the distance. They recognized this as the monastery of Webu Sayadaw and decided to go there. At about 3:00 p.m. they arrived at the compound. An old nun sat pounding chillies and beans, and they asked her if they could pay respects to the Sayadaw. "This is not the time to see the reverend Sayadaw,"; she said. "He is meditating and will not come out of his hut until about six o'clock. This monk does not entertain people. He only comes out of his hut for about half an hour in the evening. If there are people here at this time, he may give a discourse and then return to his hut. He will not meet people at times they may wish to meet him."; U Ba Khin explained that he was a visitor from Rangoon and that he did not have much time. He would like very much to meet Webu Sayadaw. Would it not be possible to pay respects outside? The nun pointed out the hut, a small bamboo structure, and the visitors went there together.

Sayagyi knelt on the ground and said, "Venerable Sir, I have come all the way from lower Burma, Rangoon, and wish to pay respects to you." To everyone's astonishment, the door to the hut opened and the Sayadaw emerged, preceded by a cloud of mosquitoes. Sayagyi paid respects, keeping his attention in the body with awareness of anicca. "What is your aspiration, layman?" Webu Sayadaw asked Sayagyi. "My aspiration is to attain nibbana, sir," U Ba Khin replied. "Nibbana? How are you going to attain nibbana?""Through meditation and by knowing anicca, sir," said Sayagyi. "Where did you learn to be aware of this anicca?" Sayagyi explained how he had studied Vipassana meditation under Saya Thetgyi. "You have been practicing Vipassana?""Yes, sir, I am practicing Vipassana.""What sort of Vipassana?" Webu Sayadaw questioned him closely and Sayagyi gave the details. The Sayadaw was very pleased. He said, "I have been meditating in this jungle alone for years in order to experience such stages of Vipassana as you describe." He seemed astonished to encounter a householder who had reached advanced proficiency in the practice without being a monk. Webu Sayadaw meditated with Sayagyi, and after some time said, "You must start teaching now. You have acquired good parami (accumulated merit), and you must teach the Dhamma to others. Do not let people who meet you miss the benefits of receiving this teaching. You must not wait. You must teach–teach now!" With a Dhamma injunction of such strength from this saintly person, U Ba Khin felt he had no choice but to teach. Back at the railway station, the assistant station master became his first student. Sayagyi instructed him in Anapana meditation in his railway carriage, using the two tables of the dining compartment as their seats.

Ven. Webu Sayadaw travels to Rangoon at Sayagyi U Ba Khin's request

Although Sayagyi did not begin to teach in a formal way until about a decade later, this incident was a watershed. It marked the point at which Sayagyi began to share his knowledge of meditation with others. In 1953, at a time when there was much conflict and strife in lower Burma, some government officials suggested that they should invite some of the saintly monks of the country to visit the capital, Rangoon. There was a traditional belief that if a highly developed person visited in a time of trouble, it would have a beneficial effect and the disturbances would calm down. Webu Sayadaw was not well-known in Rangoon because prior to this time he had strictly confined his travels to his three meditation compounds at Kyaukse, Shwebo and Ingyinpin, never leaving this small area of northern Burma. Sayagyi, however, felt strongly that this saintly monk should be invited to visit Rangoon. Even though he had not seen nor communicated with Webu Sayadaw since 1941, Sayagyi felt confident that he would accept the invitation, so he sent one of his assistants to upper Burma to ask the Sayadaw to come and visit his centre in Rangoon for one week.

This was during the time of the monsoon retreat when the monks, according to their monastic rules, must spend their time in meditation rather than in travel. Monks are not ordinarily permitted to travel during the monsoon retreat; however, for a special purpose, a monk may leave his retreat for up to seven days. When U Ba Khin's messenger reached Mandalay and people heard what his mission was, they scoffed. "Webu Sayadaw never travels," they told him. "Especially not now during the rainy season. He will not go out for even one night, let alone seven days. You are wasting your time." Nevertheless, Sayagyi had sent him on this errand, so he persevered. He hired a taxi to Shwebo and sought an audience with the Ven. Sayadaw. When the assistant told Webu Sayadaw that he had been sent by Sayagyi U Ba Khin and extended Sayagyi's invitation, the monk exclaimed, "Yes, I am ready. Let us go." This response was a great surprise to everyone.

Webu Sayadaw, accompanied by some of the monks from his monastery, then paid a visit to the International Meditation Centre. This visit, coming after more than a decade since the two men had first met, demonstrated Webu Sayadaw's high regard for Sayagyi. Moreover, it was unusual for a monk to stay at the meditation centre of a lay teacher. Between the years of 1954 and his death in 1977, Webu Sayadaw made regular annual visits to towns in southern Burma to teach Dhamma. During Sayagyi's lifetime, he periodically visited I.M.C. as well. The Sayadaw was held to have attained high attainments in meditation, and it was a great honour for I.M.C. to receive him. When Webu Sayadaw visited Sayagyi's centre, he usually gave a short Dhamma talk every day. He once mentioned, "When we first visited this place it was like a jungle, but now what progress has been made in these years. It resembles the time of the Buddha when many benefited! Can one count the number? Innumerable!"

Sayagyi U Ba Khin becomes a monk under Ven. Webu Sayadaw

At one time, Sayagyi decided to fulfill the Burmese tradition of becoming a monk at least once in one's lifetime. Without notifying anyone in advance, he and one of his close disciples, U Ko Lay (the ex-Vice-chancellor of Mandalay University) went to Webu Sayadaw's centre at Shwebo and, under the Sayadaw's guidance, took robes for a period of about ten days.

After Sayagyi's death, Webu Sayadaw visited Rangoon and gave a private interview to about twenty-five students from Sayagyi's centre. When it was reported to him that Sayagyi had died, he said, "Your Sayagyi never died. A person like your Sayagyi will not die. You may not see him now, but his teaching lives on. Not like some persons who, even though they are alive, are as if dead–who serve no purpose and who benefit none."

Video of Sayagyi U Ba Khin

There is no sound in this video. The film shows various footage of Sayagyi at the International Meditation Center.

Ven. Webu Sayadaw (1896 - 1977)

Introduction

Ven. Webu Sayadaw was one of the most highly respected monks of the last century in Burma. (Sayadaw is a title used for monks. It means "respected teacher monk.") He was notable in giving all importance to diligent practice rather than to scholastic achievement. Webu Sayadaw was born in the village of Ingyinpin in upper Burma on 17 February 1896. He underwent the usual monk's training in the Pāli scriptures from the age of nine, when he became a novice, until he was twenty-seven. In 1923 (seven years after his ordination), he left the monastery and spent four years in solitude. He practiced (and later taught) the technique of Ānāpāna-sati (awareness of the in-breath and out-breath). He said that by working with this practice to a very deep level of concentration, one is able to develop vipassanā (insight) into the essential characteristics of all experience: anicca (impermanence), anattā (egolessness) and dukkha (unsatisfactoriness). Webu Sayadaw was famous for his unflagging diligence in meditation and for spending most of his time in solitude. He was reputed to be an arahant (fully liberated one), and it is said that he never slept.

For the first fifty-seven years of his life, Webu Sayadaw stayed in upper Burma, dividing his time among three meditation centres in a small area. After his first trip to Rangoon, at the invitation of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, in 1953, he included southern Burma in his travels, visiting there to teach and meditate from time to time (listen to audio clips below). He also went on pilgrimage to India and Sri Lanka (see photos below). Webu Sayadaw spent his final days at the meditation centre in the village where he was born. He passed away on 26 June 1977, at the age of eighty-one.

Audio clips featuring Venerable Webu Sayadaw

Dhamma talk in Burmese given on Ven. Webu Sayadaw's first visit to IMC Rangoon in 1953 (30 min)

Dhamma talk in Burmese with question and answer session with Western students of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Recorded on January 19, 1976 at IMC Rangoon to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the passing of Sayagyi U Ba Khin (78 min)

Videos featuring Ven. Webu Sayadaw

Much of the material presented in this talk is gleaned from information that will be published in Part 2 of The Golden Path by Joah McGee. Part 1 of this title is available for free download. Additional material for this talk was obtained from The Way to Ultimate Calm and other sources.

Additional video clips featuring Venerable Webu Sayadaw

Note: There is no sound in any of the videos below. The films depict the Sayadaw mainly in public settings where laypeople are offering food to him (and other monks), and paying deep respects to one believed to be an arahant.

Saya Thetgyi (1873 - 1945)

The following account of Sayagyi U Ba Khin's teacher is partially based on a translation of the book "Saya Thetgyi" by Dhammacariya U Htay Hlaing, Myanmar.

Saya Thetgyi (pronounced "Sa ya ta ji" in Burmese) was born in the farming village of Pyawbwegyi, eight miles south of Rangoon, on the opposite side of the Rangoon river, on June 27, 1873. He was given the name Maung Po Thet. His father died when Po Thet was about 10, leaving his mother alone to care for the four children: him, his two brothers and a sister...(Click Read More to continue.)

A Brief Biography of Anāgām Sayāgyi U Thet and His Teaching
compiled by Ledi Pāññāsiha, translated by U Nyi

She supported the family by selling vegetable fritters in the village. The little boy was made to go around selling leftover fritters, but often came home without having sold any because he was too shy to advertise his wares by calling out. So his mother dispatched two children: Po Thet to carry the fritters on a tray on his head, and his younger sister to proclaim their wares.

Because he was needed to help support the family, his formal education was minimal-only about six years. His parents did not own any land or rice fields, and so used to collect the stalks of rice which remained after harvesting in the fields of others. One day on the way home from the fields, Po Thet found some small fish in a pond that was drying up. He caught them and brought them home so that he could release them into the village pond. His mother saw the fish and was about to chastise her son for catching them, but when he explained his intentions to her, she instead exclaimed, "Sadhu, sadhu! (well-said, well-done)." She was a kind-hearted woman who never nagged or scolded, but did not tolerate any akusala (immoral) deed.

When he was 14 years old, Maung Po Thet started working as a bullock cart driver transporting rice, giving his daily wages to his mother. He was so small at the time that he had to take a box along to help him get in and out of the cart.

Po Thet's next job was as a sampan oarsman. The village of Pyawbwegyi is on a flat cultivated plain, fed by many tributaries which flow into the Rangoon river. When the rice fields are flooded navigation is a problem, and one of the common means of travel is by these long, flat-bottomed boats.

The owner of a local rice mill observed the small boy working diligently carrying loads of rice, and decided to hire him as a tally-man in the mill at a wage of six rupees per month. Po Thet lived by himself in the mill and ate simple meals of split pea fritters and rice.

At first he bought rice from the Indian watchman and other laborers. They told him he could help himself to the sweepings of milled rice which were kept for pig and chicken feed. Po Thet refused, saying that he did not want to take the rice without the mill owner's knowledge. The owner found out, however, and gave his permission. As it happened, Maung Po Thet did not have to eat the rice debris for long. Soon the sampan and cart owners began to give him rice because he was such a helpful and willing worker. Still, Po Thet continued to collect the sweepings, giving them to poor villagers who could not afford to buy rice.

After one year his salary was increased to 10 rupees, and after two years, to 15. The mill owner offered him money to buy good quality rice and allowed him free milling of 100 baskets per month. His monthly salary increased to 25 rupees, which supported him and his mother quite adequately.

Maung Po Thet married Ma Hmyin when he was about 16 years old, as was customary. His wife was the youngest of three daughters of a well-to-do landowner and rice merchant. The couple had two children, a daughter and a son. Following the Burmese custom, they lived in a joint family with Ma Hmyin's parents and sisters. Ma Yin, the younger sister, remained single and managed a successful small business. She was later instrumental in supporting U Po Thet in practicing and teaching meditation.

Ma Hmyin's eldest sister, Ma Khin, married Ko Kaye and had a son, Maung Nyunt. Ko Kaye managed the family rice fields and business. Maung Po Thet, now called U Po Thet or U Thet (Mr. Thet), also prospered in the buying and selling of rice.

As a child, U Thet had not had the opportunity to ordain as a novice monk, which is an important and common practice in Burma. It was only when his nephew Maung Nyunt became a novice at 12 years of age that U Thet himself became a novice. Later, for a time, he also ordained as a bhikkhu (monk).

When he was about 23, he learned Anapana meditation from a lay teacher, Saya Nyunt, and continued to practice for seven years.

U Thet and his wife had many friends and relatives living nearby in the village. With numerous uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws, they led an idyllic life of contentment in the warmth and harmony of family and friends.

This rustic peace and happiness was shattered when a cholera epidemic struck the village in 1903. Many villagers died, some within a few days. They included U Thet's son and young teenage daughter who, it is said, died in his arms. His brother-in-law, Ko Kaye, and his wife also perished from the disease, as well as U Thet's niece who was his daughter's playmate.

This calamity affected U Thet deeply, and he could not find refuge anywhere. Desperately wanting to find a way out of this misery, he asked permission from his wife and sister-in-law, Ma Yin, and other relatives to leave the village in search of "the deathless."

Accompanied in his wanderings by a devoted companion and follower, U Nyo, U Thet wandered all over Burma in a fervent search, visiting mountain retreats and forest monasteries, studying with different teachers, both monks and laymen. Finally he followed the suggestion of his first teacher, Saya Nyunt, to go north to Monywa to practice with the Venerable Ledi Sayadaw.

During these years of spiritual searching, U Thet's wife and sister-in-law remained in Pyawbwegyi and managed the rice fields. In the first few years he returned occasionally to see that all was well. Finding that the family was prospering, he began to meditate more continuously. He stayed with Ledi Sayadaw seven years in all, during which time his wife and sister-in-law supported him by sending money each year from the harvest on the family farm.

With U Nyo, he finally went back to his village, but did not return to his former householder's life. Ledi Sayadaw had advised him at the time of his departure to work diligently to develop his samadhi (concentration) and panna (purifying wisdom), so that eventually he could begin to teach meditation.

Accordingly, when U Thet and U Nyo reached Pyawbwegyi, they went straight to the sala (rest-house) at the edge of the family farm, which they began to use as a Dhamma hall. Here they meditated continuously. They arranged for a woman who lived nearby to cook two meals a day while they kept up their retreat.

U Thet persevered in this way for one year, making rapid progress in his meditation. At the end of the period he felt the need for advice from his teacher, and although he could not speak to Ledi Sayadaw in person, he knew that his teacher's books were in a cupboard at his home. So he went there to consult the manuals.

His wife and her sister, in the meantime, had become quite angry with him for not returning to the house after such along absence. His wife had even decided to divorce him. When the sisters saw U Po Thet approaching, they agreed neither to greet nor welcome him. But as soon as he came in the door, they found themselves welcoming him profusely. They talked awhile and U Thet asked for their forgiveness, which they readily granted.

They served him tea and a meal and he procured his books. He explained to his wife that he was now living on eight precepts and would not be returning to the usual householder's life; from now on they would be as brother and sister.

His wife and sister-in-law invited him to come to the house every day for his morning meal and happily agreed to continue supporting him. He was extremely grateful for their generosity and told them that the only way he could repay them was to give them Dhamma.

Other relatives, including his wife's cousin, U Ba Soe, came to see and talk with him. After about two weeks, U Thet said that he was spending too much time coming and going for lunch, so Ma Hmyin and Ma Yin offered to send the noon meal to the sala.

Misinterpreting U Thet's zeal, people in the village were at first reluctant to come to him for instruction. They thought that due perhaps to grief over his losses, and his absence from the village, he had lost his senses. But slowly they realized from his speech and actions that he was indeed a transformed person, one who was living in accordance with Dhamma.

Soon some of U Thet's relatives and friends began to request that he teach them meditation. U Ba Soe offered to take charge of the fields and the household affairs and U Thet's sister and a niece took responsibility for preparing the meals. U Thet started teaching Anapana to a group of about 15 people in 1914, when he was 41 years old. The students all stayed at the sala, some of them going home from time to time. He gave discourses to his meditation students, as well as to interested people who were not practicing meditation. His listeners found his talks so learned that they refused to believe that U Thet had very little theoretical knowledge of Dhamma.

Due to his wife's and sister-in-law's generous financial support and the help of other family members, all the food and other necessities were provided for the meditators who came to U Thet's Dhamma hall, even to the extent, on one occasion, of compensating workers for wages lost while they took a Vipassana course.

In about 1915, after teaching for a year, U Thet took his wife and her sister and a few other family members to Monywa to pay respects to Ledi Sayadaw who was then about 70 years old. When U Thet told his teacher about his meditation experiences and the courses he had been offering, Ledi Sayadaw was very pleased.

It was during this visit that Ledi Sayadaw gave his walking staff to U Thet, saying:
"Here my great pupil, take my staff and forward. Keep it well. I do not give this to you to make you live long, but as a reward, so that there will be no mishaps in your life. You have been successful. From today onwards you must teach the Dhamma of rupa and nama (mind and matter) to 6,000 people. The Dhamma known by you is inexhaustible, so propagate the sasana (era of the Buddha's teaching). Pay homage to the sasana in my stead."

The next day Ledi Sayadaw summoned all the monks of his monastery. He requested U Thet to stay on for 10 or 15 days to instruct them. The Sayadaw then told the gathering bhikkhus:
"Take note, all of you. This layman is my great pupil U Po Thet, from lower Burma. He is capable of teaching meditation like me. Those of you who wish to practice meditation, follow him. Learn the technique from him and practice. You, Dayaka Thet (a lay supporter of a monk who undertakes to supply his needs such as food, robes, medicine, etc.), hoist the victory banner of Dhamma in place of me, starting at my monastery."

U Thet then taught Vipassana meditation to about 25 monks learned in the scriptures. It was at this time that he became known as Saya Thetgyyi (saya means "teacher"; gyi is a suffix denoting respect).

Ledi Sayadaw encouraged Saya Thetgyi to teach the Dhamma on his behalf. Saya Thetgyi knew many of Ledi Sayadaw's prolific writings by heart, and was able to expound on the Dhamma with references to the scriptures in such a way that most learned Sayadaws (monk teachers) could not find fault. Ledi Sayadaw's exhortation to him to teach Vipassana in his stead was a solemn responsibility, but Saya Thetgyi was apprehensive due to his lack of theoretical knowledge. Bowing to his teacher in deep respect, he said:
"Among your pupils, I am the least learned in the scriptures. To dispense the sasana by teaching Vipassana as decreed by you is a highly subtle, yet heavy duty to perform, sir. That is why I request that, if at any time I need to ask for clarification, you will give me your help and guidance. Please be my support, and please admonish me whenever necessary."

Ledi Sayadaw reassured him by replying, "I will not forsake you, even at the time of my passing away."

Saya Thetgyi and his relatives returned to their village in southern Burma and discussed with other family members plans for carrying out the task given by Ledi Sayadaw. Saya Thetgyi considered traveling around Burma, thinking that he would have more contact with people that way. But his sister-in-law said, "You have a Dhamma hall here, and we can support you in your work by preparing food for the students. Why not stay and give courses? There are many who will come here to learn Vipassana." He agreed, and began holding regular courses at his sala in Pyawbwegyi.

As his sister-in-law had predicted, many people started coming, and Saya Thetgyi's reputation as a meditation teacher spread. He taught simple farmers and laborers, as well as those who were well-versed in the Pali texts. The village was not far from Rangoon, the capital of Burma under the British, so government employees and city dwellers like U Ba Khin, also came.

As more and more people came to learn meditation, Saya Thetgyi appointed as assistant teachers some of the older, experienced meditators like U Nyo, U Ba Soe, and U Aung Nyunt.

The center progressed year by year until there were up to 200 students, including monks and nuns, in the courses. There was not enough room in the Dhamma hall, so the more experienced students practiced meditation in their homes and came to the sala only for the discourses.

From the time he returned from Ledi Sayadaw's center, Saya Thetgyi lived by himself and ate only one meal a day, in solitude and silence. Like the bhikkhus, he never discussed his meditation attainments. If questioned, he would never say what stage of meditation he or any other student had achieved, although it was widely believed in Burma that he was an anagami (person having achieved the last stage before final liberation), and he was known as Anagam Saya Thetgyi.

Since lay teachers of Vipassana were rare at that time, Saya Thetgyi faced certain difficulties that monk teachers did not. For example, he was opposed by some because he was not so learned in the scriptures. Saya Thetgyi simply ignored these criticisms and allowed the results of the practice to speak for themselves.

For 30 years he taught meditation to all who came to him, guided by his own experience and using Ledi Sayadaw's manuals as a reference. By 1945, when he was 72, he had fulfilled his mission of teaching thousands. His wife had died, his sister-in-law had become paralyzed, and his own health was failing. So he distributed all his property to his nieces and nephews, setting aside 50 acres of rice fields for the maintenance of his Dhamma hall.

He had 20 water buffalo that had tilled his fields for years. He distributed them among people who he knew would treat them kindly, and sent them off with the invocation, "You have been my benefactors. Thanks to you, the rice has been grown. Now you are free from your work. May you be released from this kind of life for a better existence."

Saya Thetgyi moved to Rangoon, both for medical treatment and to see his students there. He told some of them that he would die in Rangoon and that his body would be cremated in a place where no cremation had taken place before. He also said that his ashes should not be kept in holy places because he was not entirely free from defilements, that is, he was not an arahant (fully enlightened being).

One of his students had established a meditation center at Arzanigone, on the northern slope of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Nearby was a bomb shelter that had been built during the Second World War. Saya Thetgyi used this shelter as his meditation cave. At night he stayed with one of his assistant teachers. His students from Rangoon, including the Accountant General, U Ba Khin, and Commissioner of Income Tax, U San Thein, visited him as much as time permitted.

He instructed all who came to see him to be diligent in their practice, to treat the monks and nuns who came to practice meditation with respect, to be well-disciplined in body, speech and mind, and to pay respects to the Buddha in everything they did.

Saya Thetgyi was accustomed to go to the Shwedagon Pagoda every evening, but after about a week he caught a cold and fever from sitting in the dug-out shelter. Despite being treated by physicians, his condition deteriorated. As his state worsened, his nieces and nephews came from Pyawbwegyi to Rangoon. Every night his students, numbering about 50, sat in meditation together. During these group meditations Saya Thetgyi himself did not say anything, but silently meditated.

One night at about 10:00, Saya Thetgyi was with a number of his students (U Ba Khin was unable to be present). He was lying on his back, and his breathing became loud and prolonged. Two of the students were watching intently, while the rest meditated silently. At exactly 11:00 p.m., his breathing became deeper. It seemed as if each inhalation and expiration took about five minutes. After three breaths of this kind the breathing stopped altogether, and Saya Thetgyi passed away.

His body was cremated on the northern slope of the Shwedagon Pagoda and Sayagyi U Ba Khin and his disciples later built a small pagoda on the spot. But perhaps the most fitting and enduring memorial to this singular teacher is the fact that the task given him by Ledi Sayadaw of spreading the Dhamma in all strata of society still continues.

Saya Thetgyi: a talk by Patrick Given-Wilson

Ven. Ledi Sayadaw (1846 - 1923)

The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw was born in 1846 in Saing-pyin village, Dipeyin township, in the Shwebo district (currently Monywa district) of northern Burma. His childhood name was Maung Tet Khaung. (Maung is the Burmese title for boys and young men, equivalent to master. Tet means climbing upward and Khaung means roof or summit.) It proved to be an appropriate name, since young Maung Tet Khaung, indeed, climbed to the summit in all his endeavors. (Click the Read More tab below to continue.)

In his village he attended the traditional monastery school where the bhikkhus (monks) taught children to read and write in Burmese as well as recite Pali text. Because of these ubiquitous monastery schools, Burma has traditionally maintained a very high rate of literacy.

At the age of eight he began to study with his first teacher, U Nanda-dhaja Sayadaw, and he ordained as a sāmaṇera (novice) under the same Sayadaw at the age of fifteen. He was given the name Ñāna-dhaja (the banner of knowledge). His monastic education included Pali grammar and various texts from the Pali canon with a specialty in Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha, a commentary which serves as a guide to the Abhidhamma section of the canon.

Later in life he wrote a somewhat controversial commentary on Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha, called Paramatttha-dīpanī (Manual of Ultimate Truth) in which he corrected certain mistakes he had found in the earlier and, at that time, accepted commentary on that work. His corrections were eventually accepted by the bhikkhus and his work became the standard reference.

During his days as a sāmaṇera, in the middle part of the nineteenth century, before modern lighting, he would routinely study the written texts during the day and join the bhikkhus and other sāmaṇeras in recitation from memory after dark. Working in this way he mastered the Abhidhamma texts.

When he was 18, Samanera Ñāna-dhaja briefly left the robes and returned to his life as a layman. He had become dissatisfied with his education, feeling it was too narrowly restricted to the Tipiṭaka. After about six months his first teacher and another influential teacher, Myinhtin Sayadaw, sent for him and tried to persuade him to return to the monastic life; but he refused.

Myinhtin Sayadaw suggested that he should at least continue with his education. The young Maung Tet Khaung was very bright and eager to learn, so he readily agreed to this suggestion.

"Would you be interested in learning the Vedas, the ancient sacred writings of Hinduism?" asked Myinhtin Sayadaw.

"Yes, venerable sir," answered Maung Tet Khaung.

"Well, then you must become a sāmaṇera," the Sayadaw replied, "otherwise Sayadaw U Gandhama of Yeu village will not take you as his student."

"I will become a sāmaṇera," he agreed.

In this way he returned to the life of a novice, never to leave the robes of a monk again. Later on, he confided to one of his disciples,

"At first I was hoping to earn a living with the knowledge of the Vedas by telling peoples' fortunes. But I was more fortunate in that I became a sāmaṇera again. My teachers were very wise; with their boundless love and compassion, they saved me."

The brilliant Samanera Ñāna-dhaja, under the care of Gandhama Sayadaw, mastered the Vedas in eight months and continued his study of the Tipiṭaka. At the age of 20, on April 20, 1866, he took the higher ordination to become a bhikkhu under his old teacher U Nanda-dhaja Sayadaw, who became his preceptor (one who gives the precepts).

In 1867, just prior to the monsoon retreat, Bhikkhu Ñāna-dhaja left his preceptor and the Monywa district where he had grown up, in order to continue his studies in Mandalay.

At that time, during the reign of King Min Don Min who ruled from 1853-1878, Mandalay was the royal capital of Burma and the most important center of learning in the country. He studied under several of the leading Sayadaws and learned lay scholars as well. He resided primarily in the Maha-Jotikarama Monastery and studied with Ven. San-Kyaung Sayadaw, a teacher who is famous in Burma for translating the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) into Burmese.

During this time, the Ven. San-Kyaung Sayadaw gave an examination of 20 questions for 2,000 students. Bhikkhu Ñāna-dhaja was the only one who was able to answer all the questions satisfactorily. These answers were later published in 1880, under the title Pāramī-dīpanī (Manual of Perfections), the first of many books written in Pāli and Burmese by the Ven. Ledi Sayadaw.

During the time of his studies in Mandalay, King Min Don Min sponsored the Fifth Buddhist Council, calling bhikkhus from far and wide to recite and purify the Tipiṭaka. The council was held in Mandalay in 1871 and the authenticated texts were carved into 729 marble slabs that stand today, each slab housed under a small pagoda surrounding the golden Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill. At this council, Bhikkhu Ñāna-dhaja helped in the editing and translating of the Abhidhamma texts.

After eight years as a bhikkhu, having passed all his examinations, the Ven. Ñāna-dhaja was qualified as a teacher of introductory Pali at the Mahā-Jotikarama Monastery where he had been studying.

For eight more years he remained there, teaching and continuing his own scholastic endeavors, until 1882 when he moved to Monywa. He was now 36 years old. At that time, Monywa was a small district center on the east bank of the Chindwin River, which was renowned as a place where the teaching method included the entire Tipiṭaka, rather than selected portions only.

To teach Pali to the bhikkhus and sāmaṇeras at Monywa, he came into town during the day, but in the evening he would cross to the west bank of the Chindwin River and spend the nights in meditation in a small vihara (monastery) on the side of Lak-pan-taung Mountain. Although we do not have any definitive information, it seems likely that this was the period when he began practicing Vipassana in the traditional Burmese way: with attention to Ānāpāna (respiration) and vedanā (sensation).

The British conquered upper Burma in 1885 and sent the last king, Thibaw, who ruled from 1878-1885, into exile. The next year, 1886, Ven. Nana-dhaja went into retreat in Ledi Forest, just to the north of Monywa. After a while, many bhikkhus started coming to him there, requesting that he teach them. A monastery was built to house them and named Ledi-tawya Monastery. From this monastery he took the name by which he is best known: Ledi Sayadaw. It is said that one of the main reasons Monywa grew to be a large town, as it is today, was that so many people were attracted to Ledi Sayadaw's monastery. While he taught many aspiring students at Ledi-tawya, he continued his practice of retiring to his small cottage vihara across the river for his own meditation.

When he had been in the Ledi Forest Monastery for over ten years, his main scholastic works began to be published. The first was Paramattha-dīpanī (Manual of Ultimate Truth) mentioned above, published in 1897. His second book of this period was Nirutta-dipani, a book on Pali grammar. Because of these books, he gained a reputation as one of the most learned bhikkhus in Burma.

Though Ledi Sayadaw was based at the Ledi-tawya monastery, at times he traveled throughout Burma, teaching both meditation and scripture. He is, indeed, a rare example of a bhikkhu who was able to excel in pariyatti (the theory of Dhamma) as well as paṭipatti (the practice of Dhamma). It was during these trips throughout Burma that many of his published works were written. For example, he wrote the Paticca-samuppada-dīpanī in two days while traveling by boat from Mandalay to Prome. He had with him no reference books, but, because he had a thorough knowledge of the Tipiṭaka, he needed none. In the Manuals of Buddhism there are 76 manuals, commentaries, essays, and so on, listed under his authorship, but even this is an incomplete list of his works.

Later, he also wrote many books on Dhamma in Burmese. He said he wanted to write in such a way that even a simple farmer could understand. Before his time, it was unusual to write on Dhamma subjects so that lay people would have access to them. Even while teaching orally, the bhikkhus would commonly recite long passages in Pāli and then translate them literally, which was very hard for ordinary people to understand. It must have been the strength of Ledi Sayadaw's practical understanding and the resultant mettā (loving-kindness) that overflowed in his desire to spread Dhamma to all levels of society. His Paramattha-sankhepa, a book of 2,000 Burmese verses which translates the Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha, was written for young people and is still very popular today. His followers started many associations which promoted the learning of Abhidhamma by using this book.

In his travels around Burma, Ledi Sayadaw also discouraged the consumption of cow meat. He wrote a book called Go-mamsa-matika which urged people not to kill cows for food and encouraged a vegetarian diet.

It was during this period, just after the turn of the century, that the Ven. Ledi Sayadaw was first visited by U Po Thet who learned Vipassana from him and subsequently became one of the most well-known lay meditation teachers in Burma, and the teacher of Sayagyi U Ba Khin.

By 1911 his reputation both as a scholar and meditation master had grown to such an extent that the British government of India, which also ruled Burma, conferred on him the title of Aggamahā-paṇḍita (foremost great scholar). He was also awarded a Doctorate of Literature from the University of Rangoon. During the years 1913-1917, he had a correspondence with Mrs. Rhys-Davids of the Pali Text Society in London, and translations of several of his discussions on points of Abhidhamma were published in the Journal of the Pali Text Society.

In the last years of his life the Ven. Ledi Sayadaw's eyesight began to fail him because of the years he had spent reading, studying and writing, often with poor illumination. At the age of 73 he became blind and devoted the remaining years of his life exclusively to meditating and teaching meditation. He died in 1923 at the age of 77 at Pyinmana, between Mandalay and Rangoon, in one of the many monasteries that had been founded in his name as a result of his travels and teaching all over Burma.

The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw was perhaps the most outstanding Buddhist figure of his age. All who have come in contact with the path of Dhamma in recent years owe a great debt of gratitude to to this scholarly, saintly monk who was instrumental in reviving the traditional practice of Vipassana, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike. In addition to this most important aspect of his teaching, his concise, clear and extensive scholarly work served to clarify the experiential aspect of Dhamma.

"The great pariyatti sāsana, which is called the appearance of the tipiṭaka, is the root of the great paṭipatti and the great paṭivedha sāsanas. Only when the pariyatti sāsana is established can the other two sāsanas also be established. The burden of maintaining the pariyatti sāsana for 5,000 years is really very great. This is an age of degeneration..." - Ven. Ledi Sayadaw

Ven. Ledi Sayadaw: a talk by Patrick Given-Wilson

Other Treasures

In this section you will find books and articles in digital form that don't fit specifically into the other categories of Treasures but that still represent the qualities of the other Treasures of Pariyatti. Many of these items include recent publications that have been made available through Dhamma Dana or otherwise free of charge by their publishers and/or authors. View our offerings below.

Jewels of Myanmar

Process of Consciousness and Matter

Venerable Rewata Dhamma

Born in Burma in 1929, Venerable Rewata Dhamma was one of the foremost scholars of Abhidhamma in modern times. He obtained his Ph.D. from Varanasi University, India, in 1967. That year he also edited and published the two-volume Abhidhammattha Sangaha, including a commentary he wrote in Hindi. For this work, he received the Kalidasa Prize from the Hindi Academy for one of the outstanding books of the year, and it still remains a university textbook in India. In 2000 the Government of Myanmar awarded him the prestigious title of Aggamahāpaṇḍita (foremost great scholar). Venerable Rewata Dhamma wrote several other important books including The First Discourse of the Buddha (1997), The Buddha and His Disciples (2001), Emptying the Rose-Apple Seat (2003), and The Buddha's Prescription (2005). He also coauthored A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma with Bhikkhu Bodhi (1993). Venerable Rewata Dhamma passed away in May 2004.

Process of Consciousness and Matter is intended for all serious students of the Abhidhamma. It serves as a supplement to A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, written by Bhikkhu Bodhi and Dr. Rewata Dhamma, and treats various important aspects in more detail -- in particular, the process of consciousness and matter.

Pariyatti extends its appreciation to the venerable sayadaws of the Birmingham Vihara for their gracious permission to publish this ebook.

Ven. Anālayo

Ven. Anālayo is a Buddhist monk of the Theravāda tradition. He was born in 1962 in Germany and was ordained in 1995 in Sri Lanka. He completed his PhD on satipaṭṭhāna at the University of Peradeniya in 2000, and soon thereafter published Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization. He has been engaged in a project of comparative research between the Chinese āgamas and the Pali nikāyas under the auspices of the Yin Shun Foundation of Northern America and the Department of Indology at the University of Marburg, Germany. Recently, Ven. Anālayo collaborated with Bhikkhu Ñyāṇatusita to publish The Life of Nyanatiloka Thera: The Biography of a Western Buddhist Pioneer (Buddhist Publication Society, 2008). He has contributed to many scholarly journals including The Journal of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies, The Journal of the Pali Text Society, The Buddhist Studies Review, and The Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies.

Journey into Burmese Silence

Marie Byles

Born in Ashton upon Mersey, Cheshire, UK in 1900, Marie Beuzeville Byles is best known to Vipassana meditators for her practice of meditation. In Journey Into Burmese Silence (George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1962), she traces her own story as she first travels to Burma and comes in contact with Vipassana Meditation and then how she returns several times more later in her life to strengthen her practice. At the Maha Bodhi Meditation Centre in Mandalay, she became the student of U Thein who taught as a lay teacher in the tradition of Saya Thet Gyi. U Thein forms the centre of a group of devoted friends that sustain Marie in her struggle and lead her on a pilgrimage of meditation centres across Burma. Byles’ book is a detailed account of the many Burmese practices going by the name ‘Vipassana’. It is a valuable and inspiring book for any true seeker.

Burmese Monk's Tales

The Monk’s Tales contained in this collection were first told during that dark decade of Burmese history (1876–85), when the coming event of the British conquest of the whole country was perturbing the Burmese people. For the first time since the eleventh century the future of Burmese Buddhism became uncertain, and there was widespread fear, both in Upper Burma still under a Burmese king and in Lower Burma already under British rule, that the final fall of the Burmese kingdom would result in the total extinction of both the national religion and the Burmese way of life. Told with the purpose of allaying this anxiety and fear, these tales give a full and faithful résumé and appraisal of the position of Burmese Buddhism on the eve of the British conquest of 1886.